CAT LOVERS! Can You Help Me?

Question

I purchased a kitten, yesterday, from a pet store. He had his first set of shots and is due in two weeks for his second. I love him already, he's cute and easy so far, but when I hold him or when I'm close to him his claws scare me. They come out all the time and he always looks like he is scratching his claws at me. Am I doing something wrong? I am extremely gentle and when I called a local vet he told me to have him declawed. This is NOT an option. Can anyone with experience and knowledge of cats enlighten me to any alternatives. Also, at what age can I have my cat nutured and what are reasonable price ranges for an uninsured cat? Thank you!

Answer 1

First, bless you for not allowing declawing to be an option! I won't belabor the point by linking to one of the gory websites that show the truth about declawing, since you already seem to know.

In light of your vet's suggestion, I would strongly suggest that you find a new vet!

I don't know the best age for neutering, but I know it's fairly young. Your new vet can advise you about the best age. One reason to do it young is so he doesn't get into the habit of scent marking by spraying. Neutering early doesn't guarantee that he won't spray, but makes it less likely.

I can't tell you the cost of neutering; that will vary according to the cost of living where you live. But it's a pretty simple operation and not very expensive. If money is an issue for you, shelters and rescue groups often have spay and neuter clinics where the cost is very low.

Umm, the claw thing. Othes have offered good comments on that; scratching post, scratch pads, and such. And it's true that he won't hurt you with his claws while he's little - but he won't stay little for long! You'll want to teach him that his claws can hurt you. He won't figure that out by himself; he's about one hundredth of your size, and he'll grow to be maybe a tenth your size, and it will never cross his mind that he's capable of doing you harm. I've found that you can probably get the message across by acting hurt when he scratches you. Yelp and whine and cry, and pull back and stop playing. He loves you and doesn't want to hurt you, and he'll get the idea. Cats play rough, so you will probaly have to teach him this. Hopefully he'll learn quickly!

You don't say whether you've had cats before and your questions make me think maybe not. So here are a few links you may find interesting and informative:

A great source of feline health information:
http://web.vet.cornell.edu/Public/FHC/FelineHealth.html

Here you'll learn why almost everything you've probably heard or read about feeding a cat is wrong (including some of what you'll see on the CFHC pages!):
http://www.catinfo.org

This one could save your cat's life:
http://www.vas-awareness.org/
(That's my VAS kitty Rusty on the calendar near the top of the home page!)

Answer 2

You can let the cat know that you're not a fan of the clawing behavior by telling him no in a stern voice and putting him on the floor. Ignore him until he stops. Unfortunately kittens are like that for a while until they learn how to behave appropriately. You can also buy claw caps that can be glued over the claws (which blunts the tips so they can't scratch you)...Just a warning, this can be difficult to do so have someone help you. The claw caps are called soft paws and come in different sizes and colors. As for neutering, it can be done as young as 3 or 4 months and any local humane society or spca should be able to tell you where you can have if done for relatively cheap (or it can also generally be done on site as well) and on the chaper side of things can run anywhere between 60 and 150 dollars...but that's through the cheaper places. I had to take one of my cats in to my regular vet to have an emergency spay (because she had pyometra) and it cost 400. So please don't let cost keep you from getting your cat what it needs for you to happily co-habitate.

Answer 3

It takes a kitten a while to develop neurologically so that it controls the extension and retraction of its claws. So you need to learn to trim them right away. If you can run him by the vet tomorrow (if you have a carrier) a vet tech there will be happy to show you how.

Or the pet store where you got him should have someone to show you too. Call first to see if they can.

It is not hard to do (dogs nails are more difficult). The cat or kitten's nails are just like ours - the white part is what you cut off and the pink part (the quick) is what you stay away from.

Kittens are very wriggly so you may not get them all at one shot. Just take your time till you get your confidence and skill.

Answer 4

You've gotten so many wonderful answers. I was first going to address clipping the claws, but I see Old Cat Lady has already done that. She's great! I got a little kit from the pet store with special scissors, & a little jar of powdered stuff to stop bleeding IN CASE you cut too deeply. They can bleed VERY badly if you cut into the quick. I just cut off the sharp tips; I have to do it more often, but I've never cut her. ANOTHER to remember about PETacures, is if the claws grow too long, your cat can get "hung up" in things & get into all sorts of contortions trying to get the claws out. (You'll hear the "YOWS" if you're around.) If you're not--kitty could get hurt. I always wait until my kitty is napping & mellow; never try if they're up & about. I pick her up & talk soothingly to her, put her on a towel on the counter & gently spread the toes--be very calm--kitty will pick up on it if you aren't, & freak out. I even softly count outloud, there's one, there's two, & so on, & she KNOWS when I say "Ten!" that it's over. Then I give her a treat. My kitty (12 years old now & my best friend) was rescued from the street before she was weaned, & it took a long time before she learned to retract her claws. As a few people said, they do "knead" as they would their mum. I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT THE DECLAWING ANSWERS. I think it should be illegal. I wouldn't touch with a ten pole any vet who dared to suggest it. Just one more thing, (I do go on!) PLEASE keep your kitty INDOORS from the start. Males tend to be more curious, especially before they're nutured, but they get used to it. It is SO worth it! If you're new to owning a feline, there are so many tips I'd love to give you--like about STRING, PUSH PINS, STAPLES, how chocolate is fatal to cats, cords on your blinds! Feel free to IM or give me a "wink" or whatever it takes to make contact if you wish. Collars that have "releases" so your cat doesn't choke...STOP ME!!!

Answer 5

Congrats on the new kitten. As for the claws issue, are you sure the kitten isn't just kneading? My kitten was weaned to young and so when shes getting ready to go to sleep she actually suckles on a blanket and kneads it. If that isn't it get him a nice scratching post and bring him to it and show him how to use it. I really hope that you don't declaw him I feel its a form of animal abuse.
I am surprised that a vet would just pass something like that off as saying to declaw the kitten when it probably just needs a nice scratching post if he doesn't already have one.
Again congrats and good luck.

Happy Holidays!!

Answer 6

The best thing you can do is to keep the claws trimmed to the quick. Get the kitten a scratching post and let it get used to you holding it , they will use the front feet in a needing motion as they did while they were nursing.Prices for vets where I live are about 150 dollars, and they will do them at about 8 weeks!

Answer 7

Hello, congratz on the cat! @ 8 months they can nuter the cat and about the claws I have a kitten and it is a frightful cat when they do this it means that this is not right or Iam scared how do you hold him not asking to obe rude but try different ways to hold the cat it may have a different taking to being held than most cats would because mine like to be held were my arm is like all the wasy around him and his legs hanging down but thats an examble of being different so try differnt ways of holding the cat! (sorry if it did not help)

Answer 8

Your kitten is pretty young. Young kittens do not have full controll of their claws. He is learning how to show his claws and retract them.

The more nervous you are around your kitty, the more nervous he is going to be around you. This is a kitten and no matter how hard you try, he is going to scratch you, unless you never let him close to you and I would not suggest that.

Start now playing with his paws. This will help him get use to you touching them and will help you trim his nails.

Also, as a previous post stated, get a few scratching posts. Start training him to use them. Just watch him for a while because until he learns how to control his claws he might get stuck.

Answer 9

kittens claws do not retract all the way until they are about 2.1/2 months old. so don't worry about it, his claws should be out all the time. And it could be that he is not comfortable with the way you are holding him, not the firmness of your grip, but the position of your hands. try picking him up with one hand under his arms and the other cradling his hind end. also realize that he is getting to know you just as you are him. It will take time for him to come to trust and know you. I have a male who is now 4 months old, i've had him since birth( the Queen is my 3 year old named, Sandy Paws)You can have him neutered at 6 months of age. The cost for that varies tremondoulsy by vet and area that you live. i wouldn't even worry about pet insurance, since you end up paying way more in premiums than you will typically spend on vet bills, even if he happens to have an accident. I had a Maine Coon and she fell out of a tree and fractured her pelvis, and the whole cost of treatment was under $200. Hope this helps and have fun with your new friend!!

Answer 10

Kittens have tiny sharp little claws, they can scratch you and poke you a lot without ever meaning to. Just keep playing with him and socializing him--he will scratch and grab less, and as his claws get bigger they won't be so needle-like.

Just keep his claws trimmed, you'll be fine. It just takes a little effort to keep on top of it. If you start getting him used to it now it will be easy. Kudos on deciding not to have him declawed--that's just not a good thing. I wouldn't go with the vet who offered that as a first suggestion.

Your local spca may have a spay/neuter clinic that provides low cost services, or can direct you to some place that does. OTOH it may be worth it to find someone who will be your regular vet and start building a relationship with a doctor.